Page Turners

An Ohio
OriginalStart your exploration of Don
Robertson’s novels with these recommendations.

When Sherri
Robertson talks about her late husband, Don, her eyes sparkle and the
pride is evident. She’s vigilant in her mission to keep the power of his
words alive. So much so, Sherri told Ohio Magazine publisher and
editor Richard Osborne, that, “it’s almost sacred to me.” Here, Sherri shares five of her favorite
Don Robertson novels.

Sherri Robertson

Praise the Human
Season

A tribute to the resiliency of
the human spirit, Praise the Human Season is the tale of Howard
and Anne Amberson who, in the autumn of their lives, set forth on a
journey of self-discovery in order to find out what life really is all
about.

Mystical Union

Filled with compassion, humor
and irony, Mystical Union is a gentle portrayal of marriage in
America’s heartland.

Harv

Harv, a Cleveland
trucker, insists he is “plain as a sack of sticks.” But he’s not. As the
book jacket attests, author Stephen King believes this is “one of the
best books, Robertson, who [he says at the time] is America’s premier
midwestern novelist” has ever written.

The Greatest Thing
Since Sliced Bread

On a quiet fall day in
1944, a 9-year-old decides to visit a friend who lives on the other
side of town. So, he grabs the handle of his red wagon and begins an
incredible journey out of Cleveland — and into adulthood. Set against
one of the worst industrial disasters in history, The Greatest Thing
Since Sliced Bread is the story of courage, survival and
responsibility.

Paradise Falls

Chronicling 35 years in the
life of a small Ohio town –– from the end of the Civil War to the turn
of the 20th century –– Paradise Falls recreates the highs and
lows of an epochal time in American history.

Rock On

How was Cleveland chosen to be
the site of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum? How did “WKRP in
Cincinnati” come to be? Who the heck is Alan Freed? Akron music
historian Nick Talevski answers those queries in Hang on Sloopy: The
History of Rock and Roll in Ohio. (Guardian Express Media)

Home Sweet Home

No matter what your political
persuasion, there’ll be no heated debate about the governor’s residence.
Quite simply, it’s magnificent. Our Family’s First Home by Ian
Adams, Dianne McElwain and Mary Alice Mairose, chronicles the history of
the 84-year-old Jacobethan Revival dwelling that nine statesmen have
lived in since 1957, and the lavish heritage garden focusing on green
energy. (Ohio University Press)